Sentro Rizal DC webinar spotlights PH weaves and cultures
Clockwise from top right) Lia Macadangdang, Philippine Embassy Cultural Attaché and webinar moderator; Wilson Limon, creative director of NIñOFRANCO; Gwendolyn Torres, co-founder of Filiology; and Joyce Puno, founder of Love Sweatshop. CONTRIBUTED
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sentro Rizal Washington, DC hosted a webinar highlighting ethnic Filipino designs, the preservation of traditional weaving techniques, and efforts to provide sustainable livelihood to Philippine indigenous communities, especially during the pandemic.
The webinar marks the beginning of this year’s commemoration of National Indigenous Peoples’ Month.
Entitled “Face Mask Designs: Weaving Stories of Hope and Tradition in the Time of COVID-19,” the webinar was conducted via Zoom and Facebook Live on October 1, 2020 in the United States and October 2 in the Philippines.
Sentro Rizal Washington, DC organized the virtual program in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) through NCCA’s “PADAYON: Paglikha sa Panahon ng Pandemya.”
“Through this webinar, we hope to bring stories of hope, encouragement, and awareness to Filipinos wherever they may be during this difficult time,” says Philippine Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Renato Pedro O. Villa. “For Filipino-Americans and Filipinos overseas, it will hopefully ease your longing for your Filipino roots, heritage, and families, and somehow bring you a feeling of connectedness and healing as we all go through the COVID-19 crisis together. Sentro Rizal Washington DC is grateful for the opportunity to once again collaborate with NCCA in this very timely project.”
The first featured speaker was Wilson Limon, creative director of NIñOFRANCO, a thesis-based clothing line launched in 2014 during his grad show for the Philippine Women’s College in Davao City where he took Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Fashion Design.
Limon talked about NIñOFRANCO’s mission to showcase Filipino art and culture via contemporary fashion while providing a sustainable livelihood to its partner indigenous communities: the Blaans from Sarangani and Bagobo Tagabawa from Bansalan Davao del Sur.
Alongside its ready-to-wear clothes such as T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, skirts and other basic clothing accentuated with artisanal craftsmanship, NIñOFRANCO launched the Mask of Hope collection to raise awareness about traditional weaves and raise funds for community beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gwendolyn Torres introduced Filiology, an e-commerce company that seeks to re-educate local and international audiences about Philippine culture through stories of discovery, revive and sustain the livelihood of indigenous communities, and reconnect local artisans to local and global audiences.
Established in 2016, Filiology works closely with the Inabel weavers from Ilocos, Kalinga weavers and beaders, Sama-Bajau free divers, Mangyan weavers and embroiderers, Maguindanao weavers, Yakan weavers of Mindanao, and the banig weavers from the Tausug (Jolo), Waray (Tacloban), Bajau (Tawi-Tawi) and Molbog (Palawan) communities.
“We intentionally expanded production to work with several partner communities to make sure each island grouping was represented. We saw it as an opportunity to showcase the diverse cultures of the Philippines through a few of the tribes from North to South: Kalinga, Mangyan, Panay Bukidnon, Yakan,” Torres described Filiology’s venture into face mask production.
Love Sweatshop is a D.C.- based group composed of volunteers sewing and distributing non-medical grade and washable face masks to front liners, the homeless, seniors, families, and children in need. Joyce Puno and her family started Love Sweatshop in March when Covid-19 cases in the United States started to rise.
Wilson Limon, creative director of NIñOFRANCO meeting with indigenous community in Lake Sebu. CONTRIBUTED
“We are thankful that through our page ‘Love Sweatshop’, we were able to convey our message to a lot of people. Different individuals, groups and organizations have reached out to help us by spreading the news, distributing the masks where they are needed, donating towards the materials and even offering help with the production. To date, we have donated thousands and thousands of masks in the US and in the Philippines,” Puno said.
The webinar, was moderated by the Embassy’s Cultural Attaché Lia Macadangdang. It may be viewed on the Embassy’s Facebook page.
Visit the following sites to know how you can support NIñOFRANCO, Filiology and Love Sweatshop:
LoveSweatshop on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/3734255406590927)
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